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Inside Washington (07/15/2011)

* WASHINGTON (7/18/11)-- Agility Recovery Solutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration will host a free webinar Tuesday at 2 p.m. (CT) about what business owners learned after nearly losing their companies to small scale disasters like a sprinkler system malfunction or catastrophic events. Agility Recovery CEO Bob Boyd will share real stories of entrepreneurs whose business continuity strategies emerged while recovering from major disasters. He’ll also outline some practical applications of disaster preparedness tips, focusing on the concept of not only putting a plan together, but testing it periodically. Attendees can register online. Agility Recovery is a CUNA Strategic Services provider … * WASHINGTON (7/18/11)--The new Office of Financial Research (OFR) has made significant progress, despite not having a permanent director, Richard Berner, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, said Thursday. Berner told members of a House Financial Services subcommittee that the OFR, created by the Dodd-Frank Act, is “working diligently to satisfy its statutory mandates and mission.” Among the OFR’s responsibilities: collect data on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council; standardize collected data; perform research; and develop risk management and monitoring tools. The search for an OFR Director is ongoing, Berner said. In the meantime, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has authority to direct the planning and implementation of the OFR … * WASHINGTON (7/18/11)--Federal regulators may reconsider a proposal to limit Wall Street control of the derivatives market. Last fall, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed rules that would prohibit firms from controlling more than 20% of a derivatives exchange or trading facility. Regulators are now considering lowering the cap (The New York Times July 15). The purpose of the rule was to eliminate the monopolies that played a critical role in the financial crisis. However, Wall Street has lobbied against many of the regulatory changes passed by Congress following the crisis. Regulators recently agreed to delay the derivatives rules for up to six months. As Wall Street regulators soften their proposals, federal prosecutors say the proposals may not be strong enough. The Justice Department has been investigating possible anticompetitive practices in the derivatives industry, the Times reported late last year …